Muv Luv: DYRL -Snippet Collection-
by sasahara17
Summary: A series of short stories and world building snippets taking place in the Muv Luv DYRL universe.
1. Anchors Aweigh!

Disclaimer - The Muv Luv and the Macross Franchises are the respective copyright of their creators, Kouki Uchiyama and Shouji Kawamori, and I do not own the characters, storyline or respective settings of either franchise in any shape or form. All other references to pop culture likewise belong to their respective copyright holders.

Special thanks to Wild Goose again for helping me out!

* * *

Muv Luv: Do You Remember Luv

Short Story Collection

-Anchors Aweigh-

By Sasahara17

* * *

"_The Soviets are our adversary. Our enemy is the Navy". _

- General Curtis LeMay, United States Air Force

* * *

Yui had been apprehensive when she originally learned that her old unit, the White Fang Test Squadron, would be representing Japan in Blue Flag '02. Yui had remembered their ultra-nationalistic views about the Empire, the very same ones she used to have, and was more a little concerned about how they'd portray themselves in the multinational exercise.

The recent coup in her homeland probably didn't help their views any.

In fact, Yui had been so concerned she had flown back to Yukon Base herself at the very last minute, with only Nastassja accompanying her, to see them in person. As one of the foremost advocates of multi-national cooperation and international unity, Yui realized that if the White Fangs went and caused an international incident, it could undermine her work.

Thankfully, her fears were unfounded.

"Remember, we are here representing the Empire on the global stage," First Lieutenant Amamiya, Yui's old subordinate and now the successor as the commanding officer of White Fang, addressed the other members of the squadron. "The eyes of the world will be on us as representatives of Japan, and we must show ourselves to be honorable, just and willing to work for the betterment of all mankind."

Yui nodded her head approvingly from the dark corner of the room, unnoticed by the White Fangs. She really should have gone out there to make her presence known to her former unit, but Yui had decided against it. Project Valkyrie was a UN program at its heart, and had no bearing on an IRG test squadron using equipment developed and built solely in Japan.

"I'm quite surprised, Captain. Your friend seems like one of the more reasonable IRG officers I've seen in a while." Nastassja Ivanova whispered quietly from where she stood beside Yui. "With the way the IRG has been behaving lately, even Makabe's Wolves have been complaining about them."

"Yes, it is quite a relief." Yui agreed, now satisfied that the White Fangs weren't about to turn Blue Flag into another public relations fiasco for her battered nation. "Now, let's hop over to the briefing room next door shall we? I want to see how Focker's briefing his men."

"Understood, ma'am."

The Jolly Rodger's were the other team that had Yui worried, but for a very different reason. The US Navy's VF-103 Jolly Rodgers Squadron and the US Marine Corps VFMA-232 Red Devils would be participating in Blue Flag. Despite being combat squadrons who had actual frontline experience, they had been pulled from their deployments and ordered to send a flight each to take part in the war-games for one reason: testing the VF-8 Crusader II Variable Tactical Fighter in the exercises.

As Project Valkyrie's pride and joy, Yui was very concerned about how the Crusader would be received by the public. Yui already knew from past experience it was a given that the Crusader would flatten any TSF in a straight out fight. Germany's EF-2002 Dragoon, the only other VTF participating in the exercise, was the only machine that stood a chance at matching the Crusader. Unfortunately, she was also aware from her past experiences that the public eye had a habit of misconstruing the facts into something that was, shall we say, 'less than favorable'. It would only take one incident at Blue Flag to completely ruin the Crusader's image in the public eye, and that was what caused Yui to come here in such a hurry.

Despite the rugged image of hard-drinking, hard-fighting, mean devil dogs that Marines liked to portray themselves as, Collins had a humble air about him and never pretended to be anything other than a gentleman as far as Yui knew. No PR debacle would come from the Red Devils, of that she was certain. If there was going to be any kind of mess that would result in mountains of paperwork on Yui's desk and her reaching for a bottle of sake, it would be from the squadron that shamelessly painted the mark of a beer swilling buccaneer on their fighters and proudly flew under the name 'Jolly Rodgers'.

"This is the room." Nastassja announced, discretely opening the door to the briefing room just enough for the pair to enter. The layout of the room was much the same as the one the White Fangs were using. And once again, Yui and Nastassja's observation was unnoticed since the attention of the mixed group of VTF pilots and their Radar Intercept officers had been drawn to the charismatic man at the head of the room.

"Remember ladies, we aren't only representing the interests of the Navy in this exercise, but also the UN's Project Valkyrie," Lieutenant Commander Roy Focker, CO of the Jolly Rodgers and lead pilot of its VTF detachment ,'Skull Squadron', spoke clearly to his men. "I don't want to see any foul play against these guys. Japanese, Germans, French, Chinese, Arabs… they are our adversaries in this exercise, and our allies out of it. At the end of day, don't forget that we're all on the same team."

A soft murmur of ascent from his pilots was his response.

"Focker's being responsible… for once." Nastassja said approvingly.

"Looks like I was worried for nothing." Yui agreed.

Well it seems like the world was on the right track after al-

"Our real enemy is the Army."

What.

"Those landlubbers have been hogging all the good stuff and lording that god-forsaken Raptor of theirs over us for years! We didn't have enough cash for Raptors and carriers, so we built carriers and they had the nerve to laugh at us for being their 'bus drivers'!" Focker said, with the largest grin Yui had ever seen on him. "Now that we have the Crusader and the Over-Hornet, that's going to change. Everyone else, we play fair and square, but it's open season on the Infinites! We will annihilate them!"

What?

"Finally, the chance to avenge all those fucking gay sailor jokes!" One of the VTF pilots whooped happily.

"I'm going to hunt down those Infinities and nail their heads onto a pike!"

"Hear, hear!" Another pilot agreed heartily. "I'm sick and tired of getting my ass bounced by a bunch of no talent hicks who think that landing on a kilometer long runway makes them hot shit!"

"Let's see that low radar profile save them now!"

"That's the spirit!" Focker grinned. "By hook or by crook, we are going to make those Army boys pay through the nose! The next time the budget review comes up I want the Joint Chiefs to think that the Army are a bunch of has-beens with no balls to speak of and give them scraps!"

_What?_

"Remember ladies! We have one objective and one objective only: it's CRUSHING THE ARMY!"

Focker pumped a fist into the air, earning a loud cheer from the entire room and a befuddled stare from Yui and Nastassja.

_**WHAT?**_

* * *

_"Anchors Aweigh, my boys!  
Anchors Aweigh!"_

_"Farewell to foreign shores,  
We sail at break of day 'ay 'ay 'ay!"_

_"O'er our last night ashore,  
Hail to the foam,"_

_"Until we meet once more,  
Here's wishing you a happy voyage home!"_

* * *

Lieutenant Commander Roy Focker sat side by side next to 1st Lieutenant Keith Blazer at the bar counter, both men looking quite tipsy. All around them were various members of their respective flights, all doing their level best to drown their sorrows together. In fact, Sharon Heim was so currently so drunk she was snuggling up to a similarly passed out Navy pilot, one Lieutenant Shin Kudo, making cooing sounds that would sound suspiciously like 'Yuuya', 'Leon' and 'threesome' to a sober person.

Her boyfriend, Leon Kuze, was bent over one of the tables out cold and was in no way able to complain.

Normally, two groups from different branches of the United States Military ending up in the same bar would be cause for a bar fight of epic proportions, but today was a special day where the Army and Navy had put forward a truce so they could wallow in each other's shared misery.

Finally, this uncomfortable silence was broken when Roy tried drinking from his shot glass and found it empty. "Blast, empty. And I'm still sober. Figures."

"Here, on me." Keith said, then handed Roy what was left of his bottle of whiskey. Roy promptly poured what was left of the bottle to the old fashioned glass he was drinking from while Kieth signaled the bartender for another bottle. The bartender, who really should have thrown the lot of them out of for their unsightly behavior by now, only gave the rabble sympathetic looks as he went and complied.

"Thanks, Army."

"Don't mention it, Navy."

As if fate was mocking them, the radio decided to start up a news report describing their woes.

_"And in a startling upset in the Blue Flag exercises the, the US Marine Corps VFMA-232 Red Devils emerged triumphant, beating out every other team in the competition. This included their Navy and Army compatriots, the VF-103 Jolly Rodgers and the 65th Combat Training Battalion's Infinities, both of whom are highly decorated units. Using America's new Crusader II Variable Tactical Fighter, the Red Devils proved the lethality of the VTF platform in all forms of combat. At their celebration dinner their commanding officer, the newly promoted Captain Wilbert D. Collins, had this to say…"_

_"Here's an Oorah for Uncle Sam's Misguided Children!"_ The unmistakable voice of Captain Wilbert D. Collins hollered jubilantly through the radio. _"Suck it, Navy! Who are the Top Guns now?"_

"Fucking devil dogs. Where did they learn to dogfight like that?" Keith grumbled.

Roy, being privy to the fact that Wilbert was a close friend of one ex-NUNS Marine pilot, had a few suspicions. However the point was moot since he had a bigger worry.

"Blazer, shoot me now. Collins and I serve on the same boat. He's going to make my life hell when we both get back to the_ Kennedy_." Roy moaned despondently.

"No. I ain't dealing with this shit alone," Keith grumbled. "Accept your defeat like a man like the rest of us, you stupid pansy."

"And now I've been lectured by an Army grunt. This is officially the worst day of my life!" Roy groaned. "On the bright side, at least we didn't lose to the Chairforce. God almighty, if that happened…"

Keith considered Roy's words, envisioning himself being defeated by the USAF, than gave an involuntary shiver at the nightmarish thought. "Amen to that, Focker. Amen to that."

"Any space for a UN Army Captain who needs a drink, badly?" asked a young woman's voice, with a mild Japanese accent. Keith and Roy turned to the newcomer, then motioned to an empty seat beside them. The attractive young woman plopped herself down and quickly ordered the most expensive bottle of sake she could find.

"So what happened to you?" Roy asked, just as the woman's drink arrived.

And then the bloody radio came on again.

_"Breaking news! According to reports from the Atlantic Fleet, there has been an assassination attempt on the President! Details are scarce at this point, it is clear the President and his staff survived the attempt…"_

"…_Kuso_." Yui swore.

Keith and Roy stared at her. Roy, being one of the people who worked closely with Project Valkyrie had a few ideas on what just went wrong.

"Let me guess. Some idiot on the _Willie De_e used the new cannon you installed on it recently?" asked Roy. He winced sympathetically when Yui's reply was to drop her forehead on the bar counter.

Repeatedly.

"The _William D. Porter_ accidentally fired a live round at Air Force One while your President was passing through the Atlantic. Something to do with redeeming themselves for launching _torpedoes_ at the_ Enterprise_," Yui informed them once she had stopped punishing herself. "Nobody died because his fighter escort had Crusaders with PPBs, but now every news network in this country is all over the story. I was so busy making sure you jokers didn't do anything stupid for the last week that I forgot to keep an eye on that trice damned ship and its trice damned crew!"

"Ah, figures. It's a Democrat in the White House right now."

By this point, Yui was so agitated she wasn't even speaking English anymore.

"_I should have put it on the _Iowa_. Why didn't I put it on the _Iowa_? What madness possessed me to think that the great and majestic _USS William D. Porter_ was a good idea? That name has a history of calamities as long as it's service history! Just because it's the newest _Arleigh-Burke class_ destroyer… I am an _idiot!"

Kieth and Roy looked each other and decided that they felt much, much better now, and were filled with compassion and understanding. Wordlessly, they communicated their understanding: that as officers and gentlemen, they ought to render aid and comfort to a beautiful young woman in distress...

"Sucks to be you."

"Better you than us."

Yui gave the two of them a long, hard stare before shrugging, taking her bottle of sake and drinking with full intent to get completely smashed by dawn.

"Hoorah, and up she rises…" Focker chuckled.

And the night wore on.

* * *

**Stonewell/Bellcom VF-8 Crusader II**

The most abundant VTF model seen during the BETA war, the VF-8 Crusader II (hereforth 'Crusader') is the backbone of the US Navy, USMC and the ISAF's VTF fleet. The VF-8 would eventually earn a legendary reputation as the iconic VTF of the war, gaining the moniker 'the last dogfighter' after repeated clashes with the Soviet Su-51s Feniks in the Pacific.

**Background**

While the Crusader wasn't the first production VTF seen by mankind's armies (that honor would go to the EF-2002 Dragoon, first fielded by the Germany Army and RAF), it is the first VTF to be used like an actual Valkyrie. Whereas the EU used their first Dragoons as 'mobile TSFs' that would proceed to a combat area using Fighter mode and execute their mission in Gerwalk and/or Battroid modes as the situation warranted (hence the name), the US Navy viewed the VF-8 as an entirely new weapons platform and treated it as such, developing new tactics and strategies to accommodate it.

**History**

During the Battle of Lyons in January 2002, the German Army's JA44 Cerberus Battalion and Project Valkyire's Argos Flight used 12 VTF-0(2) to devastating effect when they laid siege to the Lyon Hive. Onlookers from the _USS America_ and _USS Enterprise_ participating in the operation were awed by the effectiveness of the VTFs in annihilating scores of Lux and Magnus Lux BETA in short periods of time. Combined with the ease of which the original two VTF-0(2)s disposed of the RLF F-16 and MiG29 TSFs during the Red Shift incident, US came to a realization that they needed their own VTF forces to remain relevant in the changing landscape of warfare.

It was the US Navy who decided to take the first step by approaching Project Valkyrie, and thus the Crusader was born.

For morale purposes, the Stonewell-Bellcom VF-8 Crusader II was named after the Vaughn F-8 Crusader jet-fighter plane, the last carrier based fighter that was used by the US Navy before aircraft were supplanted by TSFs. Due to the fact that the US Navy wanted to keep up with the EU, who had by started introducing the EF-2002 Dragoon into their armed forces, the first Crusaders were almost carbon copies of the VTF-0(3) developmental machines from Project Valkyrie. Using parts from retiring F-14D and spare F-16C TSFs to cut down on build times, the success of the initial VF-8A/B models eventually lead to a dedicated production line using specifically fabricated parts. Production never really did meet the high demand from the US Navy and US Marine Corp due to military and corporate planners severely underestimating it's usefulness. Demand was so high that Stonewell and its parent company Boening outscored Crusader production to Lockweed and Northrock in an unsuccessful attempt to meet the order placements from their customers.

Indeed, the Crusader was a legend in its own time, and many die hard Crusader pilots opted to upgrade their Crusaders to the E/F models instead of transitioning to the superior and more cost effective VF-12A Valkyrja when it was introduced in early 2004.

One curious thing about the VF-8 line is their non-stealthy radar profile, an oddity considering most VTFs, including the VF-0(3) which it was derived from, were designed with a low radar profile. This was actually a deliberate choice that came about due to a request to Project Valkyrie from the US Navy. After the recent public relations debacles arising from the US Army's F-22A Raptor and the Red Shift Incident, the US Navy wanted to show the world it was dedicated to fighting the BETA instead of putting America's interests first. They requested Project Valkyrie's lead engineer, Vincent Lowell, to increase the VF-8's radar profile to make it very clear to the international stage that the US Navy's line VTF wasn't a weapon designed to battle other humans. Unfortunately, the VF-8's performance during Blue Flag '02 still garnered the reputation the US Navy was trying so hard to avoid from some nations, notably COSEAN and certain elements in Imperial Japan (namely the IRG). Fortunately, many other nations and power players found this unwarranted criticism ridiculous (including the IJN, MEC and the EU), and the VF-8's effectiveness against the BETA eventually silenced its naysers.

**Variants**

**VF-8A/B: **Single-seat (VF-8A) and Dual-seat (VF-8B) variants built using components from retiring F-14Ds. The VF-8A, intended as a multi-role quick response fighter, used a variable sweep wings while the VF-8B, a fighter-bomber used delta wings for additional stability. Typical armament as of introduction consists of a 36mm tri-barreled gun-pod with adjustable ROF with internal feed of 600 rounds, two internal missile bays capable of holding mixed load-outs of missiles, four hard points on the wings for additional weapons and two head mounted chemical laser cannons for short ranged defense. Defensive systems include PPB and ECA systems. Maximum speed for the VF-8A is Mach 2.72 at 30,000ft. Service ceiling 85,000 ft. Only 36 of these were constructed (24 VF-8As and 12 VF-8Bs) as they were intended as a 'test' to see how well a VTF would function by US Navy and US Marine Corp before they committed themselves to the VTF program.

**VF-8C/D: **Using components from F-15Es instead of F-14D to save on factory production lines, the VF-8C (single seat, variable sweep) and VF-8D (dual seat, delta wing) were simply upgraded versions of the A/B series. Improvements included the addition of a 'bullet-proof buckler' on the left forearm that also stored additional magazines for the gunpod, and improved engines that allowed for super-cruise. Typical armament consisted of a 36mm tri-barreled gun-pod with adjustable ROF fed through a removable box magazine with 800 rounds (two additional magazines stored in buckler), two internal missile bays capable of holding mixed load-out of missiles, four hard points on the wings for additional weapons and two head mounted chemical laser cannons for short ranged defense. The VF-8D, now moving more into its role as fighter-bomber, also had two over wing hard points and two fuselage hard points, giving it significantly more armament than its single seat counterpart. Defensive systems include a significantly strengthened PPB and ECA systems. Maximum speed for the VF-8C is Mach 2.98 at 30,000ft. Service ceiling 85,000 ft. Over 150 VF-8C/Ds were produced by Stonewell and Boening during the year 2003. The exactly number cannot be determined because of the rampant outsourcing of Crusader production by Stonewell during this period

**VF-8E/F Super Crusader:** Introduced late into the war, this final variant was made using nothing but specifically fabricated parts as opposed to components from TSFs. The VF-8E (single seat, variable sweep) and VF-8F (dual seat, delta wing) were the most powerful variants of the Crusader. Performance showed a significant improvement over the VF-8C/D, and the E/F also introduced the Howard EMR-03 'Beowulf' Coilgun to the VF-8 series. This was significant as the EMR-03 was a weapon that allowed the VF-8 to have a primary gun-pod that could have ammunition counts similar to a TSF's assault cannon (2000 12.7x99 NATO rounds and two spare magazines). The VF-8E/F could also mount the 'Paladin' Supplementary Armament Package that gave the VF-8E/F additional armor and weapons but sacrificed speed and agility. Maximum speed for the VF-8E is Mach 3.1 at 30,000ft. Service ceiling 85,000 ft. In addition to the surviving VF-8C/Ds that were upgraded to E/Fs, around 24 more of these were built before Operation Babylon.

**Operational Usage**

The single seat VF-8A/C/E are normally employed as fast hunter killers and quick response units. Multiple Crusaders would operate together in teams of four to achieve this, relying more on speed and flexibility in battle. These Crusaders flights were typically used to pick apart large Destroyer charges from their unarmored backs, taking out isolated and vulnerable pockets of BETA and other targets of opportunity, jumping into situations as emergency reinforcements and, most importantly, elimination of Laser Class BETA.

The two seat VF-8B/D/F were dedicated bombers and interceptors, carrying large amounts of explosive ordinance to execute their missions. Fewer in number to the single seat crusaders due to cost and space issues, these Crusaders operated in pairs, sometimes with escort from accompanying VF-8A/C/Es when the situation warranted it. The VF-8B/D/F fulfilled a number of important roles including close air support for TSF forces, taking out Fort Class BETA quickly and long range elimination of Laser Class BETA. It should be noted that the VF-8B/D/F is almost as agile as its single seat counterpart, especially once it has dropped its air-ground weaponry.

A typical Crusader squadron typically consists of twelve VTFs. Unlike a TSF unit, their combat doctrine emphasizes on flexibility and speed instead of structured formations for defense. As such, they employ loose formations that can quickly break up into individual elements and rely on aggressive moves to control the flow of battle. The finger four is a common formation Crusader squadrons employ. Crusaders never fly alone though, and they always travel in pairs at minimum.

The Crusader also was famous for routinely engaging rouge/hostile VTFs in old-school dogfights. Crusader pilots had many clashes with other VTF and TSFs from various terrorist groups and other hostile clandestine units from other nations. In particular, the VF-8 had something of a 'rivalry' with the Soviet made Su-51 Feniks, and the battles between the _USS John F Kennedy_'s air wing with an unidentified Soviet Black ops group are the stuff of legend. It was these incidents that eventually gave the Crusader the nickname 'The last dogfighter', and made it so loved throughout the US Navy and beyond.

**Other Notes:**

The Cursader is a mix between the latest generation VF concepts from 2061 and technologies available in 2001. Technologies such as the PPB and design concepts such as internal missile bays were integrated into that appeared outwardly to be a VF-0 Phoenix air-frame. This odd mishmash of design concepts has resulted in a machine that has atmospheric performance comparable to the VF-5000 Star Mirage, well above what Valkyrie of its generation and limitations should be capable of. This proved to be the key to its success, and the success of the VTF platform in general.

While the Crusader is mostly associated with the US Navy, it also used extensively by the USMC. Later, when the ISAF was established in mid 2003, the Crusader, along with the F-35B Lightning II, became associated with the multi-national peacekeeping force as well.

Although the Crusader did not see much export trade, understandable since Stonewell was having trouble supplying the US military, let alone other buyers, a variant of the VF-8E Super Crusader was also manufactured on license by Mitsuhishi Heavy Industries under the name 'Type-03 Hayabusa', and was used as the primary VTF of the JSDF.

While the Crusader was eventually succeeded by the VF-12A Valkyrja, the large numbers of Crusaders produced during 2003 as well as its popularity among the rank and file the allowed the Crusader to remain relevant throughout the war even though it was inferior to the Valkyrja.

* * *

Authors Note:

As suggested by Person With Many Aliases, I decided to go and repost the snippets I had posted on the animesuki Muv Luv fanfiction thread here. Most of them are for flavor and humor purposes and serve to support the main story. Although they are pretty short, I hope some of you readers got a laugh or two out of these short works.

EDIT: BTW, Goose has a sequel to this snippet called 'Garuda Wings, Evaluation' in case you want to read it.

Thanks for reading!


	2. Ellen Aice Dies!

Disclaimer - The Muv Luv and the Macross Franchises are the respective copyright of their creators, Kouki Uchiyama and Shouji Kawamori, and I do not own the characters, storyline or respective settings of either franchise in any shape or form. All other references to pop culture likewise belong to their respective copyright holders.

A/N - Because it wouldn't be Muv Luv without a likeable character being featured on the obituary page, here's the death of Ellen Aice. Special thanks to Wild Goose, who helped me hammer out the kinks on this one.

* * *

"Die Motherfucker! Motherfuckers! Die!"

2nd Lieutenant Ellen Aice roared as her Over-Eagle spat out 36mm rounds in every single direction, firing on full auto until their barrels ran red hot. The BETA were making a mad dash at her, and it was only the Over-Eagle's incredible firepower that was keeping her alive.

"C'mon! C'mon, get it! Baby! C'mon!" Ellen screamed, her blood too high to do anything else but hold down the trigger.

The young Orbital Diver had been part of a very risky diversionary maneuver to buy some breathing room for the German Army, who were making a big push towards the Lyons Hive. She didn't really understand the specifics, but Ellen knew enough to understand that she and her squadron mates would be dropped feet first into a swarm of at least fifty thousand hostiles with all intent to kill everything there that wasn't human.

A tall order for eight Over-Eagles with no support.

While they had achieved their objectives, drawing the attention of almost double the number of BETA they had anticipated, her squadron's exit strategy had gone to crap five seconds into their actual mission. They had been surrounded and then picked apart one after another, until it was just Ellen who remained.

"C'mon and get it Bitch! C'mon!"

Standing on a plateau with BETA of all shapes and sizes coming at her from all directions, Ellen knew she was going to die. However, it would be a good death. She had heard over the radio that her team had made it possible for the 44th Cerberus Battalion to breach the hive.

All that was left to do was to make her last stand.

The hopelessness of her situation didn't matter. The dropping ammunition counter didn't even register in her mind. All that mattered was taking out as many of the bastards as she could with her.

"C'mon! You bastards! C'mon, you too! Oh? You want some of this?! FUCK Y-"

That was when the floor inexplicably gave out from under her. Ellen's Over-Eagle was standing right above one of the cavernous tunnels that had been dug as part of Lyon's Hive, and it just so happened the raging battle caused a cave in. The Over-Eagle was plunged nearly fifty meters and then buried in the ground by the falling rock and debris, battering the machine over and over until its wrecked and warped frame was almost unrecognizable.

She would have had better chances of survival if the BETA had actually gotten to her.

* * *

"Have you heard? Ellen is dead."

"I know," Hibiki sighed, shaking his head sadly. "Those Orbital Divers really saved our bacon and we didn't even know."

"Yeah. I mean we Valkyrie Pilots are getting a lot of credit, but if it wasn't for those guys we'd have been overwhelmed." Yuzuka rested her head on the wooden table with a sigh. "It makes me feel bad since there's all this talk about us getting medals and stuff when nobody is even looking in her direction."  
"It's often the case with things such as this."

Hibiki and Yuzuka hadn't known Ellen for very long before the Operation Overlord II. The woman who had been sent by the Space Forces to evaluate the Over-Eagle for their purposes had hit off with Yuzuka and Hibiki quickly. Despite the differences in their professions, they'd been good friends.

And now she was dead, dying in battle protecting them.

It really stung to know that, especially since they hadn't even known about it until after they'd returned to base as conquering heroes. While the rest of the world celebrated for humanity's first honest to god victory over the BETA, Hibiki and Yuzuka took some time to morn their lost comrade.

"Ellen would give us hell if she ever saw us doing this you know." Yuzuka smiled nostalgically at the thought. "Underage drinking without her? She'd throw a fit about being left out."

"Well if she wants to complain, she can resurrect herself and tell us so." Hibiki chuckled as poured two glasses, one for him and one for Yuzuka.

As annoyed as Ellen Aice would have been at the fact her two friends were being so mopey over her demise, Hibiki knew grieving was for the living. The pair took one glass each and raised it high, sad memories about times long past echoing in their minds.

"To Ellen Aice, best damn Canadian pilot to ever live."

* * *

"Sorry about Ellen Allice. I heard the two of you were friends," Wilbert D. Collins said consolingly. It had been a while since Hibiki had seen Wilbert, the Marine officer had been one of the graduates that had been moved to the Pacific theatre with a few VTF-0(2)s, shortly completing their training. It had only been when Hibiki had paid a visit to Hawaii on related business that he ran into Wilbert.

"It's okay, I've gotten over it," Hibiki shrugged having long gotten over his grief.

"She saved lives y'know." Wilbert sighed.

"She saved a lot of people," Hibiki agreed, bitterly thinking about how none of the Orbital Divers who laid down their lives that day had been given the honors they rightfully deserved.

"Yeah, the when she dropped in with those Over-Eagles in Thailand two days ago, I thought it was a fucking miracle." Wilbert nodded sadly. "Bought an entire Battalion of Marines time to withdraw, but never got out herself. Damn shame."  
Hibiki stared.

"Wil, uh… just so you you know, Ellen died in Overlord." Hibiki corrected him. "Are you sure you didn't confuse some other Orbital Diver with her?"

"No, I'm pretty sure. I spoke to her myself over the radio. Saw her face and everything, and got the name too. Ellen Aice, Space Forces Diver. Bob cut blonde hair matched with a ponytail, hot voice, and a pretty hot body. No way in hell am I forgetting her!" Wilbert insisted truthfully. "She saved Lieutenant McManus from the Black Knives and one of my boys by detonating her own S-11 bomb. I don't forget something like that."

"That can't be." Hibiki scratched his head in confusion. "I dropped by the Space Forces hangar and saw what was left of her Over-Eagle after Overlord. She definitely died there."

"Look, man. I have her name all over the AARs if you want to see-"

"Holy shit, Hibiki! I thought it was you!"

Ellen Aice cheerfully draped an arm over Hibiki's shoulders after having successfully snuck up on the pair. "What are you doing all the way in Hawaii, dude? I was just about to head back to space!"

Hibiki and Wilbert stared.

Ellen was clothed in nothing more than a hospital gown and covered head to toe in bandages and a sporting a fine looking neck brace. However, this was definitely Ellen Aice, who was most definitely alive and breathing and standing right next to them…

"Guys? Why are you looking at me like you've seen a ghost?"

Hibiki finally manage to regain the presence of mind to speak again. "Ellen. Pardon me if I seem a little rude about this, but aren't you supposed to be dead?"

"Well, I had a few close calls a couple of times but yeah I survived," Ellen frowned and studied the two men carefully. This had to be a joke, right? "Don't tell me you… you two think I'm dead? What?"

Hibiki and Wilbert traded disbelieving looks, than turned back to Ellen with serious faces.

"I saw what was left of your Over-Eagle after you got swallowed up by a cave in." Hibiki said.

"I watched you blow yourself up." Wilbert added.

"How the hell did you survive that?" The two men said in unison.

Ellen started at them with eyes the size of dinner plates, and realized they were completely serious. "The rescue teams had to cut me out of my wrecked Over-Eagle with blowtorches, and I survived the explosion by ejecting into a trench. The explosion threw me miles from where I went down, and I still got a bad case of whiplash."

Another awkward silence followed as the trio processed this new set on information.

"You… you should probably go down to Personnel and let someone know you're still alive," Wilbert informed her stiffly. "I helped Major Zander fill out all the appropriate forms. Your own squadron thinks you bought the farm."

"…Yeah. I'll go do that." Ellen nodded in a dazed manner, silently taking her leave and staggering off to verify with the paper pushes that she was still among the living.

Once she was gone, Hibiki and Wilbert look at each other, realized just how awkward the situation had become, and decided to go their separate ways.

"Well that was weird." Hibiki muttered as he left. "Well, Yuzuka would be happy Ellen's alive at least."

* * *

"Sorry Yuzuka. But I have some bad news." Yui Takamura had informed Yuzuka dourly just that morning. "I just got a report from the Space Forces. Your friend Ellen Aice… she was lost in the Budapest Hive assault two days ago. Her drop pop's trajectory was wrong and she ended up sinking into the North Atlantic. We… couldn't find the body. I'm sorry. I knew the two of you were close."

Yuzuka had nodded and accepted this news with all the professionalism of a soldier. She had nodded her head, taken the news in stride and gone about her duties. Yuzuka had a job to do and there would be time to grieve later. The _USS Enterprise_ was a fleet carrier after all, and with the war going on there was no time to be idle.

And then Ellen had wheeled herself into their hangar on a wheelchair with the biggest smile on her face and a bottle of booze in her lap.

"Howdy Yuzu! Nice carrier you have here! Man, I really thought I was a goner that time, but then the _John Paul Jones _fished me out of the drink! Am I lucky or what?" Ellen gave a small wave at her friend. "And look what I managed to bring with me, Johnny Walker Black Label Whiskey!"

Yuzuka stared.

Ellen stared back.

"Shouldn't you… be dead?"

Faced with yet another friend thinking she'd kicked the bucket, Ellen did the only natural thing she could do: Drop her face into her hands and groan. "Not again."

* * *

"Ha! Told you! I win the bet!"

"What's this about a bet?"

Lilia Kjellberg paid no attention to Ilfriede's victorious smirk when the very familiar looking Canadian hobbled up to them on crutches and an arm sling with a questioning glance. The hardened ex-NUNS Marine turned mercenary had gone unnaturally pale at the sight. In fact, she'd gone cationic.

"Just a little bet I had going with leatherneck here," Ilfriede gave the unresponsive Lilia a friendly slap on the back to jolt the Half-Meltran to her senses.

Lilia on the other hand had more pressing concerns. Seizing Ellen by the shoulders, who was too shocked to respond to the taller girl's sudden movement, Lila began screaming into Ellen's face. "Yak Deculture! How the hell are you still breathing! I saw you eject into that horde of Tanks! Everyone did! People DIE in that kind of-HOW ARE YOU STILL HERE?"

"Well as it turned out I am pretty good with the Hardyman-exo… wait, I died? Again?" Ellen stared at Lilia with wide eyes the size of saucers. Lilia nodded. Then Ellen slowly turned her head towards Feulner, who was still grinning. "And you made a bet about whether I made it out?"

"Nope, the bet was whether you'd come back from the dead! You're Canadian. Wolverine's Canadian. Ergo, you will not die when killed!" Ilfriede chirped happily.

Ellen had no idea who this 'Wolverine' was but she had the distinct impression she was being made fun of.

"So, Lilia, where's my money?"

Even though she'd escaped the jaws of certain death, again, Ilfriede's flippant attitude towards her mortality made Ellen want to die on the spot out of sheer embarrassment.

* * *

"Okay, guys. This joke is getting old. Seriously, stop."

"Don't look at us. We're not the ones doing it."

Ellen exhaled heavily. She had just stepped back into the Lyons Forward Operating Base recreation room when the entire room went silent. Seconds later, Seijyurou Makabe wordlessly handed her the obituary section of the newspaper.

Guess whose face was in the top right hand corner?

"For goodness sakes, I just got cleared for duty five days ago after that volcano incident!" Ellen huffed indignantly, unable to believe what was happening. The first time it was weird. The second time was annoying. The third time was just plain embarassing. The fourth... and the fifth...

Now? Now, It was getting old, very fast.

"Bernadette saw you get swallowed whole by that Carrier Class," Helgarose von Falkenmeyer said from where she was sitting in a carefully measured voice. "Said Carrier Class then burrowed into the Earth, never to be seen again. I think we were well justified in thinking that you were as good as dead."

"I blew it up from the inside!" Ellen protested.

Through sheer grit and determination Ellen had blasted her way out of the belly of the beast while it was still tunneling underground and dug her way back to the surface, a task which took eight hours. By the time she had limped back to base she had been in no shape to do anything but stumble back to her bunk and go to sleep for another ten hours straight.

Obviously, sometime during when she had been eaten whole and when she had walked into this room, someone went and declared her dead. And they'd been betting on it, given how a number of Ceberus pilots had sighed and handed over bills in varying denominations to Lieutenant Brigitte von Wästernach.

Who was now handing it back out again since as it turned out, the bet was still ongoing.

"You should probably go let someone know that you're still alive." Seijyurou noted.

"Right, yeah. Going to let the brass know Ellen Aice is alive. Again." Ellen mumbled, spinning on her heel and walking back out the door… right into a small Frenchwoman who tumbled to the floor.

"SACRE BLEU! UN FANTOME!" Said Frenchwoman screamed, scurrying away on all four in stark terror.

"Oh, this is getting so embarrassing."

Well, at least this was better than actually being dead, right?

* * *

"To Ellen Aice, best damn Over-Eagle pilot to ever live."

"To Ellen Aice."

It had been fifteen months and not insignificant number of misreported deaths later since her first 'demise' at Lyons when the long awaited wake for Ellen Aice was finally held. It had taken a picture of Ellen's body, bleeding out from a knifewound to the chest, to finally convince pretty much every one of her friends that Ellen had finally died. For real.

Even then they had waited a week in case she'd pop out somewhere, just to they wouldn't embarass themselves.

When she didn't, they finally decided to hold the wake.

"Damn, I thought for sure that girl was immortal." Yuuya sighed. "Do you remember the number of times her death was misreported?"

"I was standing right next to her when CNN did the biography of her dying to save the President. Boy was that a real laugh," Wilfred agreed with him sadly. "I just can't believe she's really gone."

This time they were sure she was dead.

Ellen had gone up against an Allegiance agent who had stolen a Space Forces F-23A Black Widow II, in an F-15E-OT Over-Eagle no less, and had dueled the terrorist from the space station all the way onto the Earth's surface. It was an epic battle involving zero gravity combat, re-entry, a dogfight during said re-entry, a crash-landing right into downtown Manhattan, and finishing in no holds barred knife fight in hand to hand combat outside of their ruined TSFs. Ellen had won, but had succumbed to her injuries afterword.

A death fitting for a survivor and a member of the Orbital Diver's elite such as her.

"A knife fight. Hell of a way to go, huh?" Hibiki couldn't help but shake his head at the thought. "I always knew that girl was a fighter."

"Ellen-san was really something else." Yuzuka agreed wholeheartedly.

"That must have been how she'd survived all those situations. An utter, complete, refusal to just lie down and die," Lilia Kjellburg said respectfully. "To be honest I still can't believe it even after I saw the pictures."

"Our personnel guy loved and hated Ellen," mused Otto Zander, Ellen's former superior and friend, thoughtfully. "He had the hots for her, but he also hated how she kept giving him more paperwork to do. He actually got so fed up, he just pre-filled all her paperwork for reinstatement and kept multiple copies. 'Kept saying how just as he finished submitting the paperwork, Ellen would show up and smile at him, and he'd have to do it all over again."

"Tell me about it," Hibiki laughed. "I can almost believe she'll just walk right in through those doors-"

"Hey guys! How's it hanging? I heard all of you had gone to a bar near the hospital so I decided to drop in!"

Naturally, all activity in the said bar came to a screeching halt.

One very much alive and somewhat healthy Ellen Aice greeted cheerily as she strode in to the bar.

"Wow, it really IS the whole gang! Anybody willing to buy a girl a drink? Man, I just woke up from the coma and I am so goddamn sober... why are you all staring at me like that?"

* * *

Muv Luv: Do You Remember Luv

Short Story Collection

-Greatly Exaggerated-

By Sasahara17

* * *

"Blaze, about your friend Aice…"

"Hold that thought." Hibiki Tatsunami reached over to the phone on his desk, punched in a number, put the speaker on and waited for a few moments for it to be picked up.

_"Ellen Aice, immortal TSF pilot and total sex-goddess, speaking! 'Sup Blaze?"_

"Hey Ellen. Quick question: By any chance have you taken part in any drops lately?"

There was a short awkward silence.

_"…let me guess. People are saying I died again, right?" _Ellen sighed wearily over the line. _"Again? Goddamn it. I need to fix this. Thanks for the heads up. Later Blaze." _

Ellen hung up.

"You were saying something, Focker?"

"…never mind."

* * *

_"The reports of my death are greatly exaggerated"_ - Mark Twain

* * *

**Boening F-15E-OT Over Eagle**

The first TSF developed by Project Valkyrie, the F-15E-OT Over Eagle is a powerful variant of the F15 series of TSFs, and an all-time favorite of many Gunsweeper specialists. Designed as a cheap, easy to maintain upgrade of the F-15E Strike Eagle using parts that could be found anywhere, the Over Eagle was very beloved among pilots and maintenance crews alike, although it earned a special hatred by logistics personnel for the astounding rate it consumed ammunition and fuel.

**Background**

Despite its fame as the most lethal variant of the F-15 ever fielded, the Over Eagle was originally envisioned as a self-imposed challenge by Project Valkyrie Chief Engineer Vincent Lowell and was never intended for actual use in the field. Vincent was convinced he could increase the combat effectiveness of a TSF with nothing more than existing technologies and his technical knowhow. Seeing as how the F-15 series was the most prevalent TSF fielded worldwide, Vincent chose the Strike Eagle as his test bed. Originally just a proof of concept machine that would be used to gather the data needed to create an actual production level TSF in the future, the Over Eagle's involvement in the Ireland Raid and the Red Shift Incident lead to widespread awareness and interest in the machine, resulting in its actual deployment in battlefields.

**Development History**

The Over Eagle was designed with three things in mind. Firstly, to increase the combat effectiveness of a single TSF beyond what is normally believed to be its limit. Secondly, to use only components that can be normally found in forward bases so that the Over Eagle, or at least parts of it, can be used as a quick field upgrade to existing Eagles. Thirdly, to make the Over Eagle modular, enabling it to be adaptable to many different mission types.  
Vincent some studied the most successful TSF designs, including the YF-23 Black Widow, A10 Thunderbolt II and even the A6 Intruder. He concluded that while weaponry was the most important factor for a successful TSF, but maneuverability and speed couldn't be compromised in the event that a tactical retreat was needed. After a week of messing with some blueprints, what emerged was an F-15 variant like nothing the world had ever seen before.

Although the Over Eagles were developed as developmental test machines with the idea of using nothing more than using spare equipment to quickly increase the firepower of existing Strike Eagles, the popularity of the Over Eagle eventually meant Vincent designed specific weapons and systems for the model to exploit its full potential.

**Design Features**

The most famous part about the Over Eagle is its myriad of weapons. Fully armed, it has more short term firepower to rival three, perhaps even four, A-10 Thunderbolt IIs. Also, given that Lowell wanted these upgrades to be quickly implementable in the field, many 'Semi-Over Eagles', Strike Eagles with only a part-way conversion to an Over Eagle, were found in the militaries of the world.

**Four Mount Pylons/Turrets:** Taking a page out of Northrock's YF-23, the Over Eagle has four Mount Pylons. While Mount Pylons are normally intended to act as 'holsters' for unused weapons and occasionally as an auxiliary arm, but Vincent intended for these to be used as primarily as turrets that could be either controlled by an automated targeting system or a co-pilot. This allows the Over Eagle to use six 36mm caliber weapons simultaneously, four of which have omnidirectional fire arcs. Indeed, some Over Eagles used by Gun-sweeper specialists have done away with the Mount Pylons altogether and simply mounted Assault Cannons with drum magazines on the auxiliary arms as permanent fixtures.  
+ The easiest of the upgrades to implement, all it required by Lowell's modified OS and two more Mount Pylons that can be spared. Until the introduction of coil gun type Assault Cannons, tests by Project Valkyrie showed the top loading high capacity magazine of the Type-87 Assault cannon worked best with the Over Eagle due to its compact size. When their findings were published, The Empire of Japan suddenly found itself swarmed with requests to purchase Type-87s from the various militaries of interested nations.

**Head Mounted .50 BMG Machine Guns:** Directly inspired by Yui Takamura's use of a M82 to kill a Tank BETA, two .50 BMG machine guns with as many as 500 rounds each are mounted inside the TSF's head. These .50 BMG MGs were intended specifically to pick off Tank BETA that had swarmed all over another TSF. The .50 BMG round is large enough to kill Tanks, but small enough not to endanger the TSF it is trying to rescue. However, since Over Eagles rarely encounter this situation in the field, or at least ones where rescuing the swarmed TSF in this manner was still possible, most Over Eagles choose to use these weapons to pick off smaller BETA and save their larger caliber ammunition for more resilient targets.  
+ Although .50 BMG Machine Guns such as the GAU-19 were the intended component for the head mounted weapons, many field upgrades saw some unlikely components being substituted depending on what was available. A particularly infamous example from the French Foreign Legion saw a PGM Hecate II Sniper Rifle with a fail prone, jury-rigged mechanism to work the bolt installed in one of their Over Eagles. Not quite what Lowell had in mind when he designed the upgrade.

**Internal Weapons Bay:** The Over Eagle has two internal weapons bays, one in each foreleg, that can carry a myriad of weapons. Each weapons bay can carry anything from 12 micro missiles, additional magazines for its assault cannons, additional fully functioning chain-guns, to a hellfire rocket launcher. It is this particular feature more than anything else that has given the Over Eagle its destructive reputation.  
+ This upgrade has given the Over Eagle the appearance of larger forelegs. This, and the fact many UN Space Force 'Chicken Divers' use Over Eagles, has resulted in the Over Eagle gaining the affectionate nickname 'Turkey Eagle'.

**Hip and Shoulder Mounted Hard points: **The Over Eagle also has hard points on the shoulder pauldrons and the hips for additional weapons. Typically Over Eagles load micro missile launchers on their shoulders hard points and leave their hip hardpoints empty to save weight, however, weapon loads can change depending on mission parameters.

**ECA: **All this extra weaponry comes at a cost, and that cost is weight. To maintain maneuverability and speed, Vincent stripped armor off the Eagle's shoulders, knees and forearms to reduce the load. To make up for this he included an Energy Conversion Armor system located in the upper back of the TSF in to offset this, meaning that the armor reduction is negligible as long as the ECA is active. However, the ECA is a huge power drain, and as most Over Eagles use conventional turbofan engines to power this component, this has resulted in the Over Eagle having very poor fuel economy when the ECA is active.

**Improved Engines: **To ensure there would be no loss of speed or agility, the Over Eagle uses upgraded Engines and jump units from the F-15ACTV to offset the weight. Should those not be available, as is often the case, Vincent drew up the option of his 'quad' engine, where he put two F-15E Pratts & Witney FE100-PW-220 engines together in a reinforced jump unit to provide the required thrust. While these engines certainly deliver in the field, this configuration, especially compounded with the drain from ECA, is why the F-15E-OT is a considered to be a fuel hog and especially hated by the logistics personnel.

**Operational Usage**

A fully upgraded and outfitted Over Eagle is design full of tradeoffs. Sometimes referred to as a 'poor man's A-10', the Over Eagle nevertheless has found its own niche on the changing face in modern warfare. The fact that it has impressive firepower without sacrificing speed allows the Over Eagle to keep up with regular Strike Eagles in battle, opening up a wide variety of roles for it to fulfill.

Over Eagles are regularly seen in the company of other TSFs to fulfill the role of Gunsweeper, bringing their massive firepower to bear against their unwitting victims. Others use the Over Eagle as an emergency deployment force. A group of Over Eagles used in this manner would be kept in reserve until they are needed, at which they would be called in to throw up a wall of suppressive fire to cover the escape of a friendly unit or to halt a BETA charge in its tracks. The final example is with the Space Forces, who have equipped many units of their Orbital Divers with Over Eagles. Given their usual mission parameters, the Orbital Divers require a high performance machine with plenty of firepower, irrespective of costs to maximize chances of survival: a need the Over Eagle was all too happy to fulfill.

This is of course, not without some drawbacks. While it is a force to be reckoned with in the field, supplying the Over Eagle with enough fuel and ammunition is a labor in itself. The large number of weapons, multiple types of ammunition its weapons require and poor fuel consumption made the Over Eagle a logistics nightmare. Until TSF scale TE jump engines and Assault Cannon class coil-guns reached full scale production, the Over Eagle could cost as much as four conventional TSF to resupply for a single mission. While pilots only cared about the Over Eagle's performance on the battlefield and mechanics often liked to tinker around and experiment with various modifications despite the additional workload, logistics personnel across the board absolutely hated the Over Eagle.

The Over Eagle was also woefully equipped for melee combat. Although it carried a large amounts of firepower into battle, the Over Eagle was no better equipped than the Strike Eagle for hand to hand combat. Worse, the removal of much of its physical armor made the Over Eagle reliant on the ECA for protection, further increasing its fuel consumption. In the event the ECA becomes inoperable in battle due to damage or malfunction, the Over Eagle is distressingly unarmored and vulnerable to harm and impacts a Strike Eagle could be able to sustain. Also, the internal components of the Over Eagle were found to be more vulnerable to impact damage from collisions from the BETA and environmental damage the reinforced joints and structural frame.

It was these limitations that prevented the Over Eagle from completely supplanting the Strike Eagle. Indeed, many 'Semi-Over Eagles' existed for this reason: A Strike Eagle that was partway converted to an Over Eagle. It would have lower performance than a true Over Eagle, but also prevent the Over Eagle's disadvantages from becoming too crippling. However, once the requirement for petroleum fuels and conventional ammunition was removed in 2004, largely due in part to TE engines and next generation Assault Cannons, the full conversions to the Over Eagle became much more prevalent.

While a vast majority of Over Eagles and Semi-Over Eagles were simply upgraded versions of existing Strike Eagles, Boening manufactured large numbers of Over Eagles for anyone who was willing to purchase them. The UN Space Forces in particular had many of these 'factory fresh' Over Eagles delivered directly to their orbital deployment platforms.

* * *

Authors Note:

In case you haven't already guessed it, Ellen's last stand was inspired driectly by Private Hudson's demise from Aliens. I originally got the idea after hearing about a cetain Quarian Marine's offscreen death back when ME3 first came out. My reaction was 'Pics or it didn't happen', becuase there was no way in my mind anyone voiced by Adam Balwin would go down without a fight. Eventually I got over it, but the idea never quite went away. And then I came across the Muv Luv Orbital Divers. Otto Zander is actually a character from particularly famous a series of X-Com LPs, which should probably give you an indication about what I think about the Orbital Divers. Seriously, look at those mortality rates!


	3. Miracle of Flight' & 'The Bounce!

Disclaimer - The Muv Luv and the Macross Franchises are the respective copyright of their creators, Kouki Uchiyama and Shouji Kawamori, and I do not own the characters, storyline or respective settings of either franchise in any shape or form. All other references to pop culture likewise belong to their respective copyright holders.

Wild Goose is the most awesome beta reader, ever.

* * *

Muv Luv: Do You Remember Luv

Short Story Collection

-Miracle of Flight-

By Sasahara17

* * *

_"The airplane is just a bunch of sticks and wires and cloth, a tool for learning about the sky and about what kind of person I am, when I fly. An airplane stands for freedom, for joy, for the power to understand, and to demonstrate that understanding. Those things aren't destructible."_

- Richard Bach, 'Nothing by Chance,' 1963.

* * *

Life as a refugee was hard, and ten year old Nastassja Ivanova knew this better than anyone. Living in a hastily erected tent city in the middle of Alaska wasn't the best place for a child to grow up. It was bitterly cold and living conditions were atrocious, but with her homeland of Georgia long since overrun by the alien menace, Nastassja didn't have much of a choice.

Furthermore, she also grew up without her parents. Her father and mother had been 'forcefully enlisted' into the Soviet Army when she was six, and she hadn't heard from them since. Her older sister Lydia had also been conscripted to the Far East Soviet Army at around the same time.

It was a sad fact of life that Nastassja had long since accepted the fact they were all likely dead, and had been that way for a long time. Then again, the ten year old could probably list about a dozen other children her age who had been orphaned in the exact same way, so she couldn't really complain. In fact, she considered herself blessed, for she had one little advantage over everyone else.

"Grandpa, the food's being cooked," she said happily to the withered old man. Nastassja stirred the small tin pot where she was cooking some ingredients included expired cabbage and rat meat, over a makeshift campfire outside their small tent. It wasn't restaurant quality but Nastassja had learned to make do. "It'll be ready in ten minutes."

"Bless you child," the wizened man said, from where he sat on the wooden stool beside her. Her maternal grandfather, Ivan Litvyak, was her sole surviving relative since her younger sister Katya had succumbed to illness nine months ago. Well into his seventies now and was too old to fight, Ivan had escaped the draft where her other family members had not.

In truth Nastassja considered it a small miracle that God still saw fit to bless her with his presence, especially considering his age and the poor conditions he lived in. To her, Ivan was the father and mother she never had, and she loved him dearly for that.

"What are we having child?" Ivan asked.

"We will be having borscht tonight," Nastassja lied, hoping he wouldn't call her on her obvious bluff. "I hope you don't mind, grandfather."

"Child, anything cooked with love and care will taste good to me."

The two refugees were clothed in nothing more than layers upon layers of dirty clothing and lived in a tent so spartan, it would make even a cave look luxurious. Their humble home was set a bit away from the rest of the tents, almost on the border of the nearby forest, as Ivan was distrusted by the other refugees. Ivan was a veteran of the Great Patriotic War and had apparently served with distinction during that period. Unfortunately this had not been enough to spare his daughter, Nastassja's mother, from the draft. It had also served to alienate them from the rest of the refugees, who did not care for a 'great Russian hero' like her grandfather being in their midst.

Nastassja didn't mind that at all, and neither did she blame them for it. The refuges could hardly be blamed for finding an easy scapegoat in her grandfather, especially when so many of their number had already been drafted into the Army and sent off to die. In her mind, it was the BETA's fault that their world had come to this.

"You remind me so much of her," Ivan said suddenly. Nastassja looked up from her cooking to see the old man studying her with keen eyes.

"Look so much of who, Grandpa?"

"My cousin who served in the air force. She was like a sister to me growing up. Unless these eyes of mine are failing me, you just like her when she was your age, sans the dyed hair."

"You mean Great-aunt Lydia?" Nastassja set down the old wooden ladle she had been using to stir the broth as she gave her grandfather her full attention. "She died fighting the Germans in the Great Patriotic War, didn't she?"

"She was a real fighter. Never quite met another like her." He nodded, seemingly satisfied with the resemblance. "I never did tell you about her did I?"

"No Grandpa, you haven't."

Quietly, she felt her heart quicken with excitement. Nastassja loved her grandpa's stories about the war. The stories about brave men and women triumphant against incredible odds and sacrifice against the evil German Nazis helped her escape from the bleakness of the world they lived in, and gave her hope that one day, the terrible BETA would one day too be beaten back.

"Your Great-Aunt Lydia was a fighter pilot. An ace in fact. One of the best," Ivan closed his eyes and nodded, a small smile playing on his lips as the old man slipped into memory.

"An ace?" Nastassja tiled her head in confusion at the term. She had been dimply aware in the back of her mind that her great-aunt Lydia Litvyak had been some kind of great hero, but in bleakness of her day to day existence it had slipped her mind.

"A term used to describe the best fighter pilots. Your grand-aunt Lydia was the highest scoring female ace during the Great Patriotic War. The champions of the skies," Ivan supplied and turned his head skyward and pointed. "They would soar among the clouds like the angels. Even a sharpshooter like me was in awe every time I saw them take to the skies."

Although the sky was darkening and overcast, Nastassja couldn't help but look up and be swept up by the majesty of what he had just said. She was a ten year old girl listening to her grandfather's story and her imagination ran wild.

"She loved it you know, flying. I remember this one time, when I was in her airbase getting ready for a parachute drop, she finished a mission so she buzzed the tower and gave everyone air show," Ivan recounted with a smile. "We all loved it."

"Wouldn't you get in trouble for that?"

Ivan nodded, his smile growing even wider. "The commander was furious, but she didn't care. Fighter pilots can be an eccentric bunch, and your grand-aunt was no exception: She used to put bouquets of flowers inside her cockpit."

By this point, Nastassja was completely captivated by the image of this woman, this champion of the skies who flew through the clouds with bouquets of flowers in her hands. Lydia Litvyak, the woman who walked in the realm of the gods, in defiance of the very laws of nature themselves.

It was a beautiful dream.

"You have to understand Nastassja. To her, flying wasn't a job or a duty. It was her way of life," Ivan sighed as he remembered how that story ended. "She stayed true to it right up until the very end."

"She must have been amazing," Nastassja replied, turning back to her broth which was almost done.

"The world doesn't have people like her anymore," Ivan said sadly. "The BETA own the air now. Air power is pointless. We won't be seeing anymore of her like in the coming days."

And just like that, the dream was over and reality set back in.

The vision of the woman in the clouds was gone, and Nastassja was back on the cold uncaring Earth. Such was the reality that she lived in today.

"The food's done," Nastassja said, trying to keep the disappointment out of her voice. She carefully spooned the broth into two small clay bowls she had set out for them, and then handed one to her grandfather. "Grandfather, eat it while it's hot."

"Bless you child." Ivan smiled wearily, taking the bowl from her, and the pair began to quietly eat their modest meal in silence, the warmth of family fighting off the cold that surrounded them.

It would not last.

In the years to come, tragedy would visit upon Nastassja Ivanova. Her beloved grandfather would pass on in his sleep, and she would be drafted into the Far East Soviet Army like her parents and sister before her. While Nastassja had already been independent for her age, the horrors of war against the BETA would force her to grow into adulthood long before she should have. She would eventually find a new home among the children of the 211th Zhar Battalion, and a new mother in her commanding officer, Lieutenant Colonel Fikatsia Latrova.

Captain Nastassja Ivanova, a hardened warrior, would eventually forget about that small, wam and carefree conversion with her grandfather.

But in the back of her mind, somewhere in the deepest reaches of her consciousness where none threaded, that small ten year old that cared for her grandfather, and listened to his stories, remembered.

* * *

Muv Luv: Do You Remember Luv

Short Story Collection

-Bounce Valkyrie Pilot-

by Sasahara17

* * *

Her name was Second Lieutenant Bernadette Le Tigre De La Rivière, a proud member of the French 131st TSF Group. Despite her young age, Bernadette was one of the most skilled TSF pilots of her generation. She held the position of Storm Vanguard in her squadron, a much coveted role among her peers that spoke of her potency in battle and the trust her comrades were willing to place in her.

Bernadette knew some would have called her arrogant, but she saw no harm in being that way since she had the skills to back it up. Indeed, many among the younger generation of TSF pilots considered her a benchmark of what a model knight should be like, and for her there was no greater honor.

Today, Bernadette was heading down to Dover Base to see a 'friend', or more precisely, her rival. Her Rafale flew gracefully across the English countryside as it made its way to the stronghold of the JA44 Cerberus Battalion. Although Bernadette was flying alone, she was in no danger; few would dare challenge a member of the French Army's elite in broad daylight, especially one as famous as her.

_"Huh? That's odd… Adler-107 to Control. I see this weird looking Typhoon heading towards the Base. Sending you a visual now. Please advise."_

When Bernadette heard that Ilfriede von Fuelner had finally gotten out of the mental hospital and had been cleared for active duty, she had been rather relieved at the good news. As uncouth and unruly as Ilfriede was, Bernadette had to admit that Ilfriede was a kindred soul. Under that vulgar exterior was the heart of a true warrior, and Bernadette respected that. Ilfriede hadn't been as experienced or as polished a soldier as Bernadette was, but the German had the heart of a lion and that was le petit tigre counted as most important.

_"Adler-107, that's a French Rafale, not a Typhoon. The one belonging to the 131st that was due in today. Continue on your patrol. Nothing to see there."_

_"Oh realllllly? So this is the palmtop tigress I've been hearing so much about? Guess I ought to welcome her then!"_

_"Wha-? Huh? Huh? Wait a second! Friday, don't you dare!"_

_"Sorry tower, can't hear youuuuuuuuu-"_

Bernadette would never admit it aloud, but when she had heard the news that Ilfriede had become ill of mind and had to be taken from where she belonged, the front lines, she had been greatly saddened by the news. So it was months later when she had received word that her old rival had recovered and had returned to the front once more that Bernadette had taken it upon herself to travel to Dover to convey her feelings in person. Bernadette had a few choice words for her rival when they finally met again after all those months. She-

**"YIPPIE-KI-YAY, KITTY CAT! WELCOME TO DOVER!"**

"MON DIEU!"

And that was when Lieutenant Junior Grade Ilfriede von Feulner decided to do a cold six bounce on the rival of her alternate self at supersonic speeds. The VTF-0(2) Valkyrie passed within mere feet of the Rafale, the surprise, vortices and jet wash from the supersonic fighter sending poor Bernadette flopping through the air like a beached salmon.

**"A-HA-HA-HA-HA-HA-HA-HA~!"**

_"FIRDAY! GET YOUR ASS BACK HERE!"_

* * *

"The new Tranche-4 Typhoon is going to be so much better than the Over Eagle."

"You're just saying that because you can get into close combat with it."

Tarisa Manadal, UN test pilot attached to Project Valkyrie, and Melvina Vidya Advani, a civilian contractor that had gotten mixed up with some unsavory business involving one Lilia Kjellberg, were on their way to the PX after running some computer simulations on Project Valkkyrie's upgraded Typhoon. The premier R&D platform for TSF development, Project Valkyrie was unconventional in many ways, not least in their development methods.

"I'm telling you, if the projections about the Typhoon are right, I would have done a hell of a lot better against those RLF bastards in Yukon," Tarisa huffed dourly. "I'm a CQB expert that was dumped in a Gun Sweeper machine."

"I dunno about that. That Typhoon looks like it's going to have serious problems staying in the air without all the computer assistance," Melvia said as she kept pace with her friend. "Really, 17 dedicated systems just to keep it from falling out of the air like a brick?"

"Hey, hey, hey, we're talking about the bleeding edge of technology here. Of course there are going to be hiccups," Tarisa shrugged. "By the way, did you find out what the commotion was about in Zone Four?"

"No, not yet. There was a lot of people in the control room, but most of them were too distracted to say anything. Mostly Cerberus guys. I… I think they were placing bets."

"Huh, now I'm not sure if I _want_ to know." Tarisa shivered.

Relocating from Yukon to Dover saw many changes in Tarisa's life, chief among them being that Dover Base was a madhouse like nothing else. Yukon may have had its eccentricities, but Dover Base was on a whole different level. It was as if Queen Mab had decidened upon the castle to place a curse itself on the building. This was a place where one of the junior pilots wanted to marry her Typhoon, one of the flight leads was so FABULOUS that he could spontaneously cause a room to break into song and dance at will, the entire base was shipping two of its command staff together and was actively trying to play matchmaker, and one of "their" aces had a tendency to ambush anyone in her way just for kicks.

Yuuya had commented that Ilfriede was more stable and reserved while she was IN the mental hospital as a mental patient than she was loose in this castle, and Tarisa was inclined to agree with that sentiment. Checking out your sanity at the door was practically a requirement for working here.

"So what are you planning on doing tomorrow?" Melvina asked. "You're all off duty right?"

"VG's gone to visit his sister and Stella's catching up with her old friends in the Swedish Army. As for me, my cousin is serving with the Brigade of Ghurkas. She's been asking about me, so I might as well drop by to see her," Tarisa explained. Being attached to a rear line research unit, the members of Argos Flight had much more leave when compared to combat units. It was one of the perks of the job. "Man, I haven't seen her in ages!"

"Can I come along?"

"Oh. Yeah, your family is all the way in Australia," Tarisa winced sympathetically when she remembered the circumstances behind Melvina's arrival in Dover.

Melvina shook her head. "No actually, I just want to get off the base for a while." The aboriginal girl shivered, barely restrained terror only just hinted from under the surface of her bubbly personality. "Friday… has costumes."

Tarisa froze.

"Shit."

"Uh, huh. My thoughts exactly."

Both girls were short, flat chested and, in Ilfreide's own words, 'adorably cute'. Tarisa and Melvina had found themselves often the victims of Ilfriede's 'affections', be it the German appearing out of nowhere to hug them, put them in strange costumes or do all sorts of other trauma inducing activities.

"Damn, what rotten luck. I hope something pops up to distract her before I catch the first ride out of here." Tarisa said, honestly fearing for her dignity at that point, with Melvina nodding her head in agreement. "The last thing I need is for more pictures to end up on the-"

A disheveled young blond that neither Tarisa nor Melvina had seen before darted around the corner just meters in front of them and crashed straight into Tarisa, knocking both the Ghurka and the blonde to the floor in a tangled heap.

"Tarisa!" Melvia exclaimed.

"Hey, watch it!"

The stranger had been running like all the hounds of hell had been at her heels, and if the wide eyed, deer in the headlights stare she was giving Tarisa and Melvia was any indication, the two obstacles suddenly being in her path clearly threw the stranger for a loop.

"What."

From the uniform, the girl was clearly a member of the French Army. Unfortunately, she was missing trousers, her hair was mussed and her dress jacket and shirt were unbuttoned. The Frenchwoman was pawing the ground helplessly on all fours like a helpless kitten, a sign that she wasn't in the right state of mind. Whoever this was, Tarisa knew for a fact that she was the latest victim of the Dover Castle curse.

Before either party could react, the sound of singing came from somewhere behind the newcomer.

_"Now there's no welcome look in your eyes,  
when I reach for you~"_

Tarisa and Melvia shot each other horrified looks, recognizing the owner of that voice install. "Oh, fantastic. It's Friday."

"Oh, non! Non, non, non, non…" The Frenchwoman was now deathly pale and breaking out in cold sweat, her eyes darting around desperately looking for any avenue for escape.

"HIDE ME!" The Frenchwoman practically screamed into Tarisa's face.

_"And now you're starting to criticize little things I do~"_

Thankfully, they were coincidentally right next to one of Dover Castle's many broom closets, which were coincidentally not locked.

"In here!" Melvia threw open the door, and motioned the stranger inside.

"Merci!" The stranger quickly obliged, practically hurling herself into the small room. Melvia quickly the the door closed.

And not a moment too soon, for the object of the stranger's terror rounded the corner a moment later.

_"It makes me just feel like crying,  
'Cause baby, something in you is dying.~!"_

Around the corner skipped Ilfriede von Feulner, known to her friends' as 'Friday'. Clad in her VTF flight suit with her helmet hanging off a waist strap, the young woman looked positively ecstatic this fine day. In Friday's right hand was a tiger striped leotard. In her left hand was an orange hairband that had a pair of cute cat ears on the top.

But it was the pair of dark aviator shades that Friday was wearing, the same ones she always wore whenever the blonde was up to some kind of mischief, which really sent alarm bells off in Tarisa's head.

"Hey there, girls!" Friday greeted with a wide smile, skipping to a stop right before Tarisa and Melvina. "You two won't happen to have seen a short blond Frenchy run through here would you?"

Tarisa and Melvina shared a concerned look.

"Er, what are you looking for her for?" Mervina fidgeted in place, trying her best not to draw the attention of the hungry predator that was just a few feet from her.

"Revenge!" Ilfirede chirped, the wide smile never leaving her face. "That little small timer barged into the hangar make all sorts of nasty comments about me and my new bird after I took the trouble to welcome her-"

"Which I take to mean you bounced her on the way in like you do with _everyone else_ who visits."

"-into the base, so I went and challenged her to a duel like a good knight of the Glorious German Air Force out to!" Ilfriede finished, not even pausing to acknowledge Tarisa's comment.

Well, that explained why people were taking bets in the control room about something happening in training zone four. "Friday, you're Army."

"Oh? Well, shucks. Sorry, I keep forgetting." Ilfriede shrugged her shoulders, showing she cared nothing about that. "Army, Airforce, same thing right?"

"Any member of the USAF or RAF would kill you if they heard that."

"Hello? I'm Space _Navy_. This is how many F*cks I give. Anyway, yes, **DUEL**. Her in her Rafale, me in my Valkyrie. We fought. I won!" The glint of her aviator shades as Friday said this gave Ilfriede a very sinister look. "To be honest, she was pretty good. It's been so long since I've had to cut loose on someone."

"Ah."

"So she lost, and has to do me one favor. I'm going to put her in THIS." Ilfriede brought up the tiger striped leotard, the ominous glint of her aviators now so bright it was almost blinding. Tarisa and Melvina couldn't help but take an involuntary step backwards in fear.

It was almost exactly their size.

"Where did you even get that?" Melvina asked with a quivering voice.

"Natalie had it. Can you imagine the costumes she has in that bar of hers?" Ilfriede cheerfully informed them. "Why so surprised? I could have sworn you once wore one of her costumes before, Tarisa."

"I did," Tarisa gulped. "I just didn't want to remember."

"She's a sore loser," Friday put her winning smile on. "I just want to take a few pictures to remember, that's all. SO! Have either of you two seen a little blond Frenchwoman in a half-undressed uniform run through here? I would be ever so grateful if you could tell me where she went."

"No idea, mate."

"Search me."

"I guess it can't be helped." Friday nodded. Then she turned to look at the leotard, then back to them, then to the leotard again…

"Hm, I wonder if either of you will be able to fit in this…"

Without another word, Tarisa walked calmly over to the door of the broom closet and threw it open.

Much to their surprise, at first glance the mystery girl couldn't been seen inside the musty old room. In fact the only thing there aside from the various knickknacks and cleaning equipment was a full suit of display plate armor that was standing upright in a corner. That suit of armor was also shaking like a leaf, and it was clear that whoever had hastily thrown it on was a rather short person.

"Why thank you, Tarisa. I knew I could count on you!"

"Don't mention it, you heartless blackmailing witch."

"Oh, look! There you are, Bernadette!" Ilfriede beamed as she walked into the room. Inside, the 'suit of armor' had dropped all pretense and was now desperately trying to climb the shelves to escape. A futile guesture since the only doorway to the room was blocked by her worst nightmare. "Come now, let's get you suited up in this!"

"SACRE BLEU!"

The door swung shut behind her.

"Let's… get out of here while we still can." Tarisa said to Melvina.

"Best idea I heard all day, mate!" The pair quickly made their escape, and did their best to tune out the singing and the screams that were now coming from inside the broom closet.

_"You lost that lovin' feeling,  
Whoa, that lovin' feeling,  
You've lost that lovin' feeling,  
Now it's gone...gone...gone...woooooah!"_

**"MERDE!"**

* * *

-In Other News...-

* * *

**Yokohama Hostage Situation Reaches Explosive Conclusion!**

Global News Network, 31 Jan 2002, Alberte Genetti reporting

The hostage situation in Yokohama Base, Japan reached a tragic conclusion today despite the best efforts of the Imperial Royal Guards' 16th Guard Battalion and the US Army's 66th Tactical Armored Battalion when the hostage takers chose to take their own lives and the lives of one of their captives.

Three days ago, the current headquarters of the 11th UN Army became the scene of a shocking standoff. Three UN officers stole two UN Type-94 Shiranuis and took the entire base hostage after seizing control of its recently installed automated defenses with a high tech computer virus. These three officers, 1st Lieutenant Mitsuki Hayase, 1st Lieutenant Haruka Suzumiya and 2nd Lieutenant Akane Suzumiya are all believed to have ties to the terrorist organization Refugee Liberation Front.

Although they trio had planned and executed their plan almost flawlessly, it was only by the timely intervention of Captain Michiru Isumi that saved the lives of the 5000 base personnel. Captain Isumi, now hailed as a national hero, sacrificed her own life to ensure that the majority of the base's personnel were evacuated safely before full control of the base fell into the terrorists' hands. However, the terrorists were able to capture several hostages including UN 11th Army vice commander Yuuko Kouzuki and the entirety of 207th UN Training Unit, among whose cadets are several relatives of prominent members of both Imperial Japan and the UN Security Council.

With the base fully under the terrorists' control, Yokohama and the area around the base became a strict no-fly zone. The standoff lasted for three days, during which negotiators and local law enforcement worked relentlessly to ensure the safe return of the hostages. Despite the best efforts by many of the UN's best hostage negotiators, the situation remained at a standstill until the US Army's 66th TAB "Hunter", under Major Alfred Walken, launched an assault on the base using state of the art F-22A Raptor TSFs to defeat the base's defenses.

After fifteen minutes of grueling fighting, the Hunter Battalion was able to secure all but one of the hostages and forced the terrorists to retreat deep into the main HQ building with Vice Commander Kouzuki. It was then, deciding to take their own lives rather than be captured, that the trio armed a S11 bomb. Thankfully, the Hunter Battalion was able to evacuate the base before the bomb detonated, although they were unable to rescue Professor Kouzuki.

Although the death toll stands only at five out of thousands, the price for defeating the terrorists has been heavy.

With their regional headquarters destroyed and one of their senior command staff having been a casualty, the UN Army is currently reorganizing itself in Hawaii. The US has also come under fire for their handling of the situation by elements of the Japanese Government, who they claim were preventing the on scene IRG unit from intervening in favor of the 66th Hunter Battalion. There is no evidence to refute or support this claim. The UN Army, in cooperation with the various regional powers, is leading a global manhunt of surviving RLF cells.

Michiru Isumi has been posthumously promoted to the rank of Major and awarded the Order of the Golden Kite 1st Class, the highest military award of valor by Imperial Japan. A public funeral for her and vice commander Professor Yuuko Kouzuki, lauded as one of the most brilliant members of the scientific community, will be held in a week's time in the Imperial Capital of Tokyo.

**Opinions on the aftermath of the Yokohama Hostage Crisis**

"I was as shocked as anyone else. We developed those automated droids to be used as our last line of defense against the BETA. I never thought anyone would be horrible enough to pervert that into something that could do this. Those defences were meant to save lives, not end them." - Captain Yui Takamura, Project Valkyrie Director  
"That the RLF would turn automated defenses against the very thing they were meant to protect shows that we have been talking these separatist groups far too lightly. These monsters are not human, not anymore. Humanity must deal with them, swiftly and concisely. We must deal with them now." - US Secretary of Defense David Anderson

"They caught us completely flat footed. If it wasn't for Captain Isumi, I don't know how we'd have gotten away. She laid down her life without even a second thought. She deserves that medal and I'll never forget what she did for all of us. As for that traitor? Wherever Hayase is right now, I hope she's getting her just deserts." - 1st Lieutenant Misae Munakata, UN Army

"The terrorists were out of their minds, and their demands were completely unreasonable. They wanted us to deliver them 'the Messiah'. I'm a human being! How am I supposed to deliver them the Second Coming? I knew they were fanatics, but we never had a chance." - 1st Lieutenant Pierce Wright, UN Negotiator

"We're lucky to be alive. That's all I have to say." - Cadet Kei Ayamine, 207th Training Group

"If the Imperial Royal Guard had been allowed to deploy just like I had repeatedly asked, I guarantee we would have been able to save Yokohama Base and Vice Commander Kouzuki. Those Americans mishandled the situation completely, and cost us not just the base but one of the most brilliant minds humanity has ever known. That we were held back despite having been ready to execute our own plan days before the Americans even arrived is pure lunacy!" - 1st Lieutenant Mana Tsukuyomi, Imperial Royal Guard

"Man, sure puts a dampener on the party, doesn't it? And here I thought us retaking Lyons was a good sign. One step forward, one step back." - 1st Lieutenant Ilfriede von Feulner, German Army

"I have a feeling there was more to this than what we... what _I_ saw. Mitsuki-san couldn't have been a traitor. She... wasn't that type of person. I know she wasn't. Someone... Someone needs to get to the bottom of this." - Cadet Meiya Mitsurugi, 207th Training Group, survivor

* * *

Authors Note:

Hey guys. Sorry about the delay in the next chapter, but I've been kinda distracted by some other stuff I've been working on. In the meantime, this should help tide things over until Valkyries Part 3 and Journey Home 2 are ready.


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